The Day After
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Prue and her doctor boyfriend have been dating happily for some time when Brendan fails to appear for a date. Now it's the day after, and he has a telephone call to face in this sequel to the author's "A Blessing or A Curse?".


Title: "The Day After"  
Author: Pirate Turner  
With Dedication To & Inspiration By: My dearest, darling beloved Captain of my heart, Jack  
Rating: R for nudity  
Summary: Prue and her doctor boyfriend have been dating happily for some time when Brendan fails to appear for a date. Now it's the day after, and he has a telephone call to face in this sequel to the author's "A Blessing or A Curse?".  
Warnings: Het, Original Characters  
Disclaimer: Prue Halliwell and Charmed are © & TM their respecitve owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Dr. Brendan Richards and Ola LaBelle are © & TM the author, Pirate Turner, and may not be used without permission. Everything else is © & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

He groaned as he came around. He blinked his eyes until the glaze in his brown eyes settled enough that he was able to see that he had, by some miracle, made it home last night. He wondered fleetingly if any of his neighbors had seen or heard, then tossed that worry aside with a new moan of pain. His whole body always seemed to ache all over the day after, and today was no exception. No, if at all possible, he thought, wrapping an arm around his abdomen, he hurt even more today.

He shook himself, his shaggy, brown hair flying about his head, then reached up and grasped the railing. He pulled himself up to where he stood on the tiny space that his apartment complex passed off as a balcony. It was a space barely five feet wide, and if he did not curl into a defensive ball automatically when sleeping, he never would have been able to squeeze his tall, muscular frame onto the landing.

He would not have even had the landing without a friend who was very special to him, and the thought flashed through his mind that she would be quite upset to learn of his failure the night before. He moaned as he ran a hand over his face; his moan hid his inner struggle not to whimper. He was always a failure. No matter what he tried to do to keep things like last night from happening, he always failed. He wasn't worthy of his friend or the time and care she put into him, he thought, whimpering as his fingers shoved up into his dark, wavy hair, and he certainly wasn't worthy of . . .

The scent that the early morning breeze brought to him caused him to freeze. He stood as still as a statue for a moment before his betraying nose lifted into the air and sniffed. He inhaled the sweet scent even as he tried to place what it reminded him of. She was using her lavender shampoo today and her usual perfume, but beyond that and the natural, enticing aroma of woman was the utter and complete sweetness that had bewitched him into not running from her when he first met her. He tossed his head back, forgetting, for a moment, all his worries as her wonderful smell wrapped around him until it was all he felt and all he knew.

The moment was far too shortly lived, however, for even as he thought of the beautiful woman who had wriggled her way into his heart, despite his best efforts to keep her safe, the realization that she, too, would be angry with him for last night hit him like a ton of bricks. What was she doing here? he wondered. Surely she wasn't coming to his apartment? She couldn't be, he reminded himself, for she didn't know where he lived.

She had to be on assignment. That was it. He should call her, apologize for last night, apologize for being a failure . . . No, what he should do was to leave her completely alone, he told himself sternly even as he gazed down upon the soft, silken strands of her raven head. That was the only way to keep her safe.

Yet, as he watched, the woman of his dreams put her cell to her ear again, and this time, his hearing caught the faint ring of his own telephone. He froze again, his heart hammering and jumping up into his throat. She was calling him. As he listened, his answering machine kicked in.

"Brendan," she called his name in her sensual voice that caressed his ears and made him want to wag all over. "Brendan, it's Prue. I know you're there. Pick up. Please pick up. You owe me an explanation. Why'd you break our date last night? Everything's been going so well. I thought . . . " She sighed, and from his perch far above her head, he saw her wipe a hand over her face.

She was crying! he realized with a howl that swept through the city and made Prue's head snap up to attention. Clamping a hand over his mouth, he hurried inside and raced to the phone. Grabbing it like a lifeline, he held it to his ear. "Prue, Prue, it's nothing you did! Please don't think that! You're a beautiful, sweet, wonderful woman who any man would be honored to know!"

Her voice came haltingly over the line. "Then -- Then why -- ?"

"I'm sorry I broke our date last night. I didn't want to."

"Why didn't you call?"

"I couldn't." He bit back another whimper as his own deep, brown eyes became full of sadness. Had he had a tail, it would have tucked between his bare legs.

"Why not? Emergencies couldn't have kept you that busy?"

"No," he admitted. "I wasn't working."

Anger laced her voice as she demanded, "Then why in the Hell couldn't you call?" In his mind, he could clearly see the furious flash that was undoubtedly lighting her eyes.

"I . . . I wasn't able to control anything last night. I . . . fell apart."

"Fell apart?" she repeatedly incredulously. Slowly, her anger transformed into concern, concern for him, concern that he didn't deserve even as it thrilled his ears. "Brendan, what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay? Where are you? I can come -- "

"No, don't! You can't be around me right now!"

"Brendan, I don't care if you're contagious! If you're sick, if you need me, I want to be there for you!"

His heart soared at her words, and his resolve to hide from her almost melted. Then he remembered what had happened to him the night before when just thinking about her had become more than he could handle, and he strengthened his resolve. He had to protect her. "I am . . . sick," he told her. It wasn't a complete lie. He was sick, just not in any way she could ever imagine. "And I don't want to endanger you, so please, Prue, for now, try to understand and stay away."

"But, Brendan -- "

"Please," he begged her in a whimpering voice. "Please. For your own sake."

"Brendan -- "

"Then for my sake."

She sighed into the phone. "Okay, but if you're not better in a few days, I'm going to come see you, even if you don't want me to." It was an idle threat, she knew, for if he was sick, he wouldn't be at work and she still didn't know where he lived. She had to find out where his home was! For the hundredth time, she wondered why he'd never invited her over. She knew he had to be living very modestly, but she didn't care. She just wanted more time with the man she had fallen so hard for, harder than anybody before save one but that one was gone. She never wanted to lose Brendan; in fact, she thought more and more that she wanted him in her future for a long time to come.

"It's not that I don't want you to," Brendan was saying. "I love being with you, Prue, but it just can't happen right now." He paused for a moment, then asked in the pleading voice that reminded Prue of the little boy he must have been, the little boy she was increasingly suspecting had felt hardly any love, "Okay?"

She sighed again, and though it was impossible to feel her at that time, Brendan could easily imagine her breath washing over him, tickling his hair, making him smile, and indeed, she did make him smile. Prue, in turn, smiled as she heard that familiar smile that she always found so incredibly sexy in his tone of voice as he answered in relief, "Thank you. I lo -- I care for you deeply, Prue, and I can't wait to see you again. Take care of yourself." He forced himself to hang up, leaving Prue dazed and starry-eyed with his near admission.

Brendan let out a breath he hadn't been aware he had been holding. That had been close! He couldn't endanger her like that, not until a cure had been found, tried, and proved to work. He dialed another number, praying the woman who was his only hope of ever finding the answers he needed so badly would answer, and trusting she would. Sure enough, her sultry voice came on the other end of the line soon, and Brendan started blabbering like a fool, as he so often did when he had her ear. "Ola, you've got to help me! Please! We've got to find that cure! I don't want to endanger her, but I -- I -- "

"It's okay, Brendan. Just saying the words won't harm her."

"I LOVE HER!" He did not only shout the words; he howled them. His howl burst through the door to his balcony that was still slightly ajar, sending Prue, far down below on the streets, quickly bustling along her way. The Witch smiled even as she ran. She didn't have her sisters with her, and she didn't want to die. She had found love, and she wanted to live forever after with her doctor who would prove to be far more than she ever even dreamed!

**The End**


End file.
